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Ellen Foster: movie tie-in edition (Paperback)

by Kaye Gibbons (Author) "When I was little I would think of ways to kill my daddy ..." (more)

4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (237 customer reviews)

Price:	CDN$ 11.50 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 39. Details
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Product Details

Paperback: 126 pages
Publisher: Vintage; Reissue edition (May 12 1990)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 067972866X
ISBN-13: 978-0679728665
Product Dimensions: 20.3 x 13 x 1 cm
Shipping Weight: 137 g

Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (237 customer reviews)

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Product Description

From Amazon.com

Oprah Book Club® Selection, October 1997: Kaye Gibbons is a writer who brings a short story sensibility to her novels. Rather than take advantage of the novel's longer form to paint her visions in broad, sweeping strokes, Gibbons prefers to concentrate on just one corner of the canvas and only a few colors to produce her small masterpieces. In Gibbons's case, her canvas is the American South and her colors are all the shades of gray.

In Ellen Foster, the title character is an 11-year-old orphan who refers to herself as "old Ellen," an appellation that is disturbingly apt. Ellen is an old woman in a child's body; her frail, unhappy mother dies, her abusive father alternately neglects her and makes advances on her, and she is shuttled from one uncaring relative's home to another before she finally takes matters into her own hands and finds herself a place to belong. There is something almost Dickensian about Ellen's tribulations; like Oliver Twist, David Copperfield or a host of other literary child heroes, Ellen is at the mercy of predatory adults, with only her own wit and courage--and the occasional kindness of others--to help her through. That she does, in fact, survive her childhood and even rise above it is the book's bittersweet victory. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From Publishers Weekly

The appealing, eponymous, 11-year-old orphan heroine of this Southern-focused debut survives appalling situations until she finds safe harbor in a good foster home. "Some readers will find the recital of Ellen's woes mawkishly sentimental," PW remarked, "but for others it may be a perfect summer read."
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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When I was little I would think of ways to kill my daddy. Read the first page

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Customer Reviews

237 Reviews

5 star:		(106)
4 star:		(79)
3 star:		(25)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(14)

Average Customer Review

4.1 out of 5 stars (237 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars I loved this book---you will also, Jun 6 2005

By	Jean Poole - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ellen Foster: A Novel (Paperback)

The conundrum---what to do? The book is told from the perspective of an eleven-year-old girl (think along the lines of Sue Monk Kidd's SECRET LIFE OF BEES). I was thinking, "Oh, no. Not again." But as usual the author handles the material expertly. But what do you do when the main character is the one telling the story, yet her grammar is terrible? Do you leave in the bad English, or do you clean it up and have the "realistic" element taken out? This is a difficult question, and a few authors get around this in various way---I'm thinking of THE BARK OF THE DOGWOOD with its precocious seven-year-old who spouts the Latin names for plants. So much for bad grammar. But in ELLEN FOSTER, that couldn't have been done. I only found this "realism" mildly distracting as the story itself is good. Read in one day, it was a not-too-emotional telling by a very talented author who deserves much more respect and admiration that she is getting. Also try her ON THE OCCASION which, I believe, is her best book.

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3.0 out of 5 stars seemed dated, May 31 2004

By	J. Harrell "Contessa, Villa Beona Appalachia" (NC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Ellen Foster: A Novel (Paperback)

I appreciated the humor and wisdom in Ellen's voice. I applauded her spunk. The subject matter is enormous in its own right, so I was mystified by what seemed a twist in focus at the end. Almost as though Ellen's living hell needed more weight to be of import. Possibly I'd have been more moved in 1987, when this book was first published.

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4.0 out of 5 stars A great short book, but quite involving, April 30 2004

By	Hsoj Yensid "Hsoj" (Fort Collins, CO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ellen Foster: A Novel (Paperback)

If you are picking up this book because it is short, that's fine, but if you don't want to get a book where you're involved, a book where you actually feel things, then don't read Ellen Foster.
Ellen Foster has experienced her mother's, grandmother's and father's deaths. She is jumping around from leaf to leaf and looking for a permanant family.
This book jumps between time periods, when she is looking for a new family and when she has found a new family.
Ellen obviously can survive this because of her witty, aridly humorous take on life.
You can really understand her life because of Kaye Gibbons's brilliant depictions of what it is like to be misunderstood, to not know where you belong.
You will enjoy this book if you're looking for a book you can really get into, feel, and love. You will also find a laugh or two inside of the book, but you might have to look real hard!

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars deeply moving, creatively written
I read this book starting out as an assignment, but ended up adding it to the list of my favorites. The amount of levels Gibbons writes on is amazing; she can make you laugh and... Read more

Published on April 26 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars Ellen is fabulous!
The voice of this little girl is amazingly clear. How often do you laugh out loud? For a book that is not so funny... but oh, what a voice she has. Read more

Published on April 15 2004 by katiebug